sinovels Chapter 111 Release Date
Chapter 111 Release Date
At 8 p.m. on Friday, Duan Lei sat on the sofa in the living room, turning off most of the lights except for a floor lamp next to the sofa, letting the screen's light be the main source of light in the room. The iQiyi page was on on the TV, and when the countdown to the opening credits reached the last three seconds, he took a breath and slowly exhaled.
The Silent Truth. Screenplay by: Early Spring Tea.
Duan Lei started following this author from "The Hidden Corner" all the way to "The Long Season", "Seven", and "Saw". He felt that he had enough expectations for the style of Early Spring Tea - knowing that this person's scripts would not leave any room for survival, knowing that each book would leave the audience silent for a long time after watching it, and knowing that the plots that you thought were "already tragic" would always become even more tragic in the next episode.
He had made all the mental preparations, but in the fifteenth minute of the first episode, when Jiang Yang was pinned down by Zhang Chao at the subway station, he still realized that his preparations were useless.
The first episode didn't contain much information, but it was enough to make you sit up straight.
Jiang Yang was walking down the street dragging his suitcase when Zhang Chao caught up with him. The two argued in the rain, and then the suitcase was opened, revealing a corpse on screen. The audience and the characters in the drama were all stunned.
Duan Lei instinctively pressed pause at that moment, out of fear, because he knew that the plot of "Early Spring Tea" wouldn't be as simple as just revealing a corpse at the beginning; this corpse was definitely the key to the entire series.
The timeline shifts to many years ago. Jiang Yang appears in a university classroom, young, spirited, and wearing a prosecutor's uniform. Duan Lei didn't realize then what kind of contrast this scene would become in the future; he only thought Bai Yu's acting was very natural, and that youthful energy could hold up on screen. Later, he learned that Bai Yu filmed this part last, transforming himself into the tired, aged, and lifeless Jiang Yang before returning to this hopeful starting point to film those bright scenes. At the time, he only thought Bai Yu's performance was natural, but later, in retrospect, he realized it was a kind of reverse acting—experiencing the end first, and then going back to act out the beginning.
At the end of the second episode, Jiang Yang's girlfriend, Li Jing, appears in a coffee shop and has a conversation with him. She says, "I'm here to see you about a case." Jiang Yang asks, "What case?" Li Jing says, "Ten years ago, a man named Hou Guiping drowned while teaching in a mountain village. The police said it was suicide, but his family says it wasn't." Jiang Yang says, "Then you should find the police." Li Jing says, "I did. Nobody cared." Jiang Yang is silent. Then he says, "Then I'll take care of it." When Duan Lei sees this, he thinks to himself: Don't get involved. Don't get involved. But he can't say it aloud, because this is a script written by Early Spring Tea, and Jiang Yang is a man whose fate has already been written.
When the fourth episode aired, Duan Lei paused the broadcast and went to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water.
He stood in the kitchen staring blankly at the water glass, not turning off the tap even when it was full, until the water overflowed onto the counter before he realized what was happening. He went back to the sofa and continued playing the music.
Jiang Yang began investigating Hou Guiping's case, but the resistance grew stronger. Some warned him to stop investigating, some took his file, and some knocked on his door late at night.
Duan Lei paused the video again, showing him being forced to stop on the bridge by that car late at night. He stared at the scene on the screen for a long time—Bai Yu sitting in the car, his face a mixture of exhaustion and fear, the car lights outside swaying in the rainy night like a wild beast that might pounce at any moment.
Jiang Yang has started his imprisonment.
No one in the audience knows how that scene was filmed, but when he saw Bai Yu walk into that cell, he was completely one with Jiang Yang in the drama. He had lost weight, his face was sagging, his cheekbones were protruding, and his shoulders were hunched when he walked.
The moment he sat down in the cell, Duan Lei suddenly felt that he had seen this scene before.
In the seventh episode, after being released from prison, Jiang Yang embarks on a new journey, which involves both investigating cases and finding a job.
Those who once admired him, relied on him, and placed their hopes on him, have all drifted away one by one. He stood in line for an interview at the entrance of a small company. There were more than a dozen people ahead of him. When it was his turn, the interviewer glanced at him and said, "Sorry, we've already filled this position." Jiang Yang didn't argue, nodded, and turned to walk away.
When Duan Lei saw this, he cursed under his breath. He didn't know who he was cursing, he just needed an outlet.
In episode eight, there's a conversation between Jiang Yang and Zhu Wei in his hospital bed. He lies on a narrow bed, his face pale, while Zhu Wei sits in a chair beside him. An entire afternoon passes in silence between them. Jiang Yang says, "I'm not afraid of death. What I'm afraid of is that after I die, no one will care." Zhu Wei remains silent. Duan Lei feels he also doesn't speak; at least at that moment, he can't utter a sound.
Episode 9.
Jiang Yang begins working at the legal aid center. In a cramped office, Chen Mingzhang sits opposite him, and Li Jing sits in a chair beside him. The three are discussing something, the warm lighting clashing with the cool tones that dominate the rest of the show.
Duan Lei suddenly realized that this was one of the few times Jiang Yang was not shrouded in shadow.
That decision.
He stood in the basement, a suitcase in front of him. He organized all the documents, stacking them one by one into the suitcase, his movements slow, almost like a ritual. Duan Lei watched him zip up the suitcase and suddenly understood why Early Spring Tea used so many "suitcases" as imagery in this story—Jiang Yang's life was packed into suitcase after suitcase, some he packed himself, others forced upon him by others.
Episode 11. The courtroom scene. Jiang Yang's video appeared on the courtroom's large screen, his face magnified to the entire screen, his voice calm, like someone who had died once speaking from memory. He told the whole truth of the case. He explained how those people were covered up. He concluded by saying, "I hope you can live on for me." Duan Lei felt as if he were speaking to the audience.
Episode 12. The finale.
Duan Lei didn't know how those forty-odd minutes passed. He only remembered a few scenes—Zhu Wei poured a glass of wine in front of Jiang Yang's grave and said, "The case is closed, you can rest over there now." Li Jing stood in the rain without an umbrella. Chen Mingzhang put the suitcase into the evidence room and paused for a moment when closing the door.
As the end credits began to roll, Duan Lei didn't move. He sat on the sofa, staring at the blacked-out television screen for a long time, until the room was completely dark. He heard his own breathing amplified in the quiet living room, like someone searching for an echo in an empty space, only to find their own echo.
He picked up his phone and scrolled to the forum thread that had hundreds of replies. The latest reply, posted five minutes earlier, contained only one sentence: "For the first time in my life, I cried because of a fictional character." Duan Lei looked at the reply, feeling that it had said everything he wanted to say, yet also feeling that it hadn't. He probably wanted to say more—for example, "Jiang Yang makes me feel like I'm living too lightly," or "After watching this drama, I don't really know how to evaluate my own life," or "Why does Early Spring Tea always manage to write stories that leave readers unsure of where to go after reading them"—but he didn't post any of them. He simply took a screenshot of that sentence and saved it to his photo album.
The phone rang; it was Gu Yanxi. Duan Lei thought for a moment. He didn't seem to know anyone named Gu Yanxi, so the message wasn't meant for him; it must have been sent to the wrong person.
He stared at the name for a while, but didn't click on it, then put his phone down.
The night outside the window had completely fallen. Duan Lei didn't turn on the light. Sitting in the darkness, listening to the hum of the air conditioner, he thought that the person named Jiang Yang should have gone very, very far away by now. And he, like everyone else who had watched this drama, simply sat there for a long time, waiting for something—perhaps waiting for his breathing to return to normal.
"Damn, this is really well written."